Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main body that operates the ranking?
The ranking is owned and published by Higher Education Quality and Assessment Council HEQAC
What is HE Higher Education Ranking?
A tool for measuring the quality, degree, and level of operation of higher education institutions according to a number of Key performance indicators (KPIs) and standards that concern all measurable sectors of higher education institutions. The ranking works to improve the operation of higher education institutions and develop their performance and generally aims to raise their scientific, academic, and research level, promote the internationalization of higher education, achieve access to higher education, meet the requirements of sustainable development, and link higher education institutions socially, culturally and serviceably to society, and bridge the gap between higher education institutions and labor market.
What is the ranking publishing method?
The ranking is published online on the website of the ranking.
Is access to the ranking free or paid?
The ranking and its results are completely free, and we support full and open access to the ranking data.
What are the bodies, parties, and entities concerned and related to the ranking?
Higher education institutions, higher education councils, governments and countries, decision-makers, quality assurance, and accreditation bodies and agencies, local, regional and international funding bodies and agencies, employers, students, and parents.
What general areas does the ranking cover?
Teaching, faculty members, scientific research, internationalization, cultural and social impact, quality assurance, labor market, infrastructure, equity and equality, academic freedom and transparency, creativity and innovation.
What is the method for adding universities to the ranking?
Any university or HEI can communicate with the official channels of the ranking (e-mail – Linkedin) indicating its desire to join the ranking.
The university fills out the questionnaire that will be sent to it. The data from the questionnaire sent by the university is analyzed, and the results are announced in December of each year. The university can also wait for the announcement of the data collection phase in the middle of September every year.
What is the added value achieved by ranking?
Raise the level of higher education institutions according to a number of various standards and performance indicators, which lead to the development of the operation and performance of higher education institutions.
Why was the number of participating universities limited to 1,000 universities only?
The ranking plans to achieve competitiveness among higher education institutions at the international level so that higher education institutions around the world make every effort to meet the ranking requirements, which will lead to an improvement in the university’s operation. The best way to achieve this competitiveness is to determine a certain percentage of the number of universities that will be added, and therefore, the number of 1000 universities is equivalent to about 3% of the number of universities around the world, which is a very logical and rational limitation.
Is the evaluation method on which the ranking operates based on the foundations of university programs and faculties, or is it institutional? What is the comparison mechanism followed by the ranking?
The ranking is institutional and issued in an institutional manner, and there is no overlap with the internal structure of the programs offered by the higher education institution. The comparison was made on an institutional basis.
What geographical scope does the ranking cover? Is it local, regional, or international?
The ranking transcends the borders of geography and continents, and it is an international ranking that ranks all HEIs located in all countries of the world on all continents.
How is information collected that will be used in ranking universities?
Data is collected through questionnaires that will be sent to universities, which will be the main criterion for evaluating universities
How is ranking quality assurance maintained?
The ranking top management consists of a council of experts and advisors who hold periodic meetings with the aim of preserving the development and originality, ingenuity, and genuinity of the ranking and achieving added value for HEIs.
What is the level of ranking transparency?
All performance criteria and indicators on which the ranking is based are available on the ranking website within the methodology section. After the results of the ranking are issued, a detailed report will be sent to each higher education institution showing the results of the data it submitted, guidelines, and recommendations to improve its ranking.
Why does the ranking cover performance standards for quality assurance, accreditation, ISO, and other standards? These are the criteria for accreditation, why were they added to the ranking?
This is a very good question! The ranking works in general to raise the level of higher education institutions, and in one way or another, the ranking deals with the standards and performance indicators that the accreditation and quality assurance bodies work on, and therefore, the ranking measures the quality assurance standards in HEIs. This is an essential part of the university development process.
In the event that the university improves its ranking, it will, as a result, ensure that it obtains accreditation because it improves the scope of its work in the areas covered by the accreditation, which are the same performance indicators mentioned in the ranking. While ranking, quality assurance, and accreditation share their work to improve the level of performance and raise the level of operation of higher education institutions around the world, each of them differs in the way and method by which the mechanism of work of higher education institutions is measured. The ranking is a periodic and annual measurement tool for a number of quality assurance standards, and thus, contributes to the development of the performance of these standards periodically.
Are the criteria and performance indicators used subject to development or modification?
Certainly, the aim of the ranking is to raise the level and efficiency of higher education institutions. Therefore, if we find that there is a need to do any development or improvement of performance indicators, we will do so. The ranking is a tool to help higher education institutions, not to create additional burdens for them.